California's Delta: Inside and Out

credit: Curtis Jerome Haynes

It's one of the largest sources of water for the world's 8th largest economy. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been called the heart of California's water system. As lawmakers, conservationists, farmers, policy experts and others debate the future of the Delta, this five-part series tells the story of how the region both connects and divides Californians.

Environment Reporter Amy Quinton takes a comprehensive look at how the Delta is tied to the rest of the state and what it means to everyday Californians. We'll journey with her into the Delta and learn about its water, fish, levees, islands and culture. Amy also takes us to far flung places like the Upper Feather River and the Oroville Dam in the Sierra and California's border with Mexico.

California’s Delta: Inside and Out aired as a 5-part series in October, 2013 on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Click on the links below to hear each individual story. Or listen to the 29-minute documentary version here:

Twenty-five million people and much of the state’s agriculture rely on water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Environment reporter Amy Quinton takes us on a 700-mile journey following California’s water system.

The Delta's Fragile Ecology

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the largest estuary on the West Coast, but it’s in trouble. Its native fish are dying. The second part of our series looks at the connection between the Delta’s fish and California’s water supply.

Food, Farms and Delta Water

California is the nation’s largest agricultural state. It would not be possible without water from the Delta. Farmers say the water is their lifeblood, but it’s been cut back year after year. We look at farmers’ dependence on the Delta.